15 minutes behind, that's what my watch said and I wasn't even at the turn around. I still had to make it to the aid station spend the necessary time there and then turn around and head out. Needless to say I wasn't happy with how things had panned out at this moment in time. My goal was to reach the turn around at 2:30. By the time I left the turn around aid station I was 25 minutes behind schedule. I wasn't pleased with my race at this moment.
I made a few new friends. I was happily chatting with them and running at a very relaxed pace. We talked about our ultra experiences, up coming races, goals, etc. Everything seemed good. Gabe and I met pretty early on. We ran into each other about 3-4 miles into the race. I asked if he wanted to pass me and he said he liked my pace so we just ran and chatted.
At the start of the race Gabe was asking some people what the river crossing was like, I told him that it was approximately knee high and that he had nothing to worry about.
The race director stood at the start line with his microphone saying something I couldn't quite make out. Next there was the countdown and eventually we all took off. Running with Micah (who was running his first ultra) I was commenting about I loved the start of ultras. Everyone shuffling along. Never knowing if really the person next to you who looked fatter, uglier and slower than me was gonna kick my ass. Micah and I crossed the river together and we started up the first big climb of the race. Micah had dropped something, I didn't slow down enough to know what exactly it was. I turned around and asked if he was ok. He said go on ahead, and he was gonna walk this hill. So I soldiered on up the hill. Eventually i was caught by Gabe and we started talking.
When we reached the first aid station we caught up with a couple girls from Arkansas. One girl was an accomplished ultra runner and the other was running her first. When Gabe and I left the aid station these girls started off running away from aid station not aware of the first giant hill we were going to have go climb. I wasn't worried about catching them. I walked and took my time cause the hill was literally right there. With two hands full of fruit I climbed the stairs and the mountain. The Arkansas girls stayed with us from that point on and we moved along at a fairly good pace.
Making it to the second aid station I grabbed a handful of oranges and a handful of potatoes and started walking out of the aid station while waiting for the group to catch up. Once we were together we started running again. The trail to the third aid station was up and down and we were going slower than I wanted. When I looked at my watch I was about 15 min behind being at the third ait station. I made a move to pass everyone and took off running. I made it in and out of the aid station, 25 minutes behind. I again again again again again again again again the first segment back. Seeing Laurie and Coleen, made me happy, but I was still grumpy and trying to move fast. Running the ups and the downs. Laurie asked me "Where have you been all my life?" I gave her a grumpy reply of "Running slow!". In what seemed mere moments after seeing Laurie and Coleen I see Micah who seemed happy to be moving forward and enjoying the run. I was unfortunately paying more attention to the trail to really have a meaningful trail passing conversation but I was happy to see him still moving forward! Right after that was Deb and Debbie! Was good to see them. But again like all my friends on the trail I had other thoughts in my head to really concentrate on saying "Hi".
Once I made it to the fourth aid station I took a break to settle down, relax and compose myself. I had run pretty hard that last leg and was a little out of breath. I sat down emptied some sand out of my sock took a couple handfuls of food and started my power hike out of the aid station and back up the first big climb for the return journey. I kept my focus and just power hiked the climbs and ran the shallower climbs. Passed a handful of people. Then once I started the down hill portion I threw caution to the wind and let gravity do it's trick. I made the treck across the flat ground between the climbs. Passed more people and then moved straight to the last big climb. Once I made the summit of this climb I was shocked to be on top so fast. I again let gravity do the trick, raced passed more people and made it into the aid station.
Last section, time to make or break me. Last year I really struggled here. Lots of walking and un happy thoughts. This year was much better. More walking that I would have liked but I still managed to run a large portion of this section. When I started the last section there were 4 guys who all left the aid station at the same time. I walked and ate my handfuls of food, while everyone else took off running. I tried not to concern myself with the time I would lose on them while filling my belly with precious calories. As soon as we were back on the trail I passed 3 of the guys right away. They seemed really set on trying to show that they still had strength left, I just wanted to move faster. The 4th guy though seemed to be powered by batteries and I struggled to keep him in my sights. Soon he was gone, I'd given up on trying to catch this guy and tried to focus on myself and trying stay positive.
I had passed a couple, and shortly after I started having some stomach problems so I popped a ginger candy and started sucking on that. I started walking. I then got caught by the female part of that couple, and I decided I would hop on her wheel for a while to regain my composure. I thanked her for reminding me that I was being a pussy, and when she asked if I wanted to pass I thanked her again for the pick me up. I picked up the pace and started running hard again. Next thing I knew I was on the tail of that guy I had given up on. I kept up the pressure and soon passed him. I felt relived to be by him now. I could feel I was close to the river, and would be making the crossing soon.
I dropped into the water with a loud sigh of relief. The cold water felt great on my feet and my legs. I wanted to stay there for a bit but made better of the decision and exited the river hastily. I ran the last hill, staring only at the ground so that I couldn't tell how steep it was. Once I made it to the paved road I knew it was all down hill from here. Running on the road was the worst my feet felt the whole race. I ran in the Inov-8 X-Talon 190's. While they were great for the whole day on the trail, at the end of the race my feet were too sore and the rubber cleats on the pavement was painful on my feet. Oh well, less then a mile to go. If I run it'll hurt less. Running for the finish line knowing I'm gonna PR, but thinking I was only going to PR by mear minutes, I hit the line at 5:39. I broke the 5:40 barrier (even if just barely).
My goal was to finish in 5:30 or there abouts. In order to do that I was going to have to reach the turn around at 2:30 and return in 3 hours. I was way off mark, and when I was starting my trip back I knew I had to negative split to come close to my time from last year, and knowing how I felt on the way back last year I had almost given up hope. But I'm glad I stuck with it and made the attempt cause it totally paid off.
I was, for some reason, under the impression that my time at Sylamore last year was 5:45is, when in actuality it was 5:53. Which makes my time about 13 minutes faster than last year. Great improvement over last year and I am really looking forward to next year where I can race and not screw up the first half and put two great halves together.